Contributor.

Sonja KellyAccion, USA

Sonja E. Kelly is director of research at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion. Kelly conducts and facilitates financial inclusion research at CFI, directing the CFI Fellows Program, developing frameworks to understand critical concepts like financial health and financial capability, and facilitating the Global Microscope research. She serves as research lead on many topics related to financial inclusion. In her own research and work, Kelly focuses on regulation and policy, the role of banks in financial inclusion, and especially vulnerable populations.

Kelly has a doctorate in international relations from American University, where her dissertation focused on financial inclusion policy and regulation. She has previously worked at the World Bank, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, and Opportunity International.

Kelly is currently a member of the board of directors of People Reaching People, and has held volunteer positions as president of the Washington, DC, chapter of Women Advancing Microfinance, and as president of the steering committee for Northwest Chicago Young Life. When not at the office, Kelly can be found spending time with her family as they renovate their home in northeast Washington, DC.

Posts by Sonja Kelly

Does financial inclusion really lead to financial health? The industry has largely been operating under the assumption that the answer is "yes" - but a new Gallup survey of more than 15,000 people in 10 very different countries reveals a more complex picture. Sonja Kelly and Evelyn Stark explore the results of this "unprecedented look at personal finance and how people perceive their situation," in a discussion that raises vital questions about the future direction of financial inclusion.

The Global Financial Inclusion Database (Findex) - one of the most authoritative yardsticks on the state of financial inclusion - finds that 69 percent of the world’s adults now have bank or mobile money accounts. But while that's an exciting headline, it's also misleading, as millions of those newly opened accounts are lying dormant. And that's just one reason why industry stakeholders have found the latest Findex data underwhelming. Elisabeth Rhyne and Sonja Kelly at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion unpack some of the troubling stats – and highlight a few bright spots.

The classic tech-meets-tradition narrative often portrays fintechs and established financial institutions as natural adversaries. But research from the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) and the Institute of International Finance found quite the opposite to be true. CFI's Sonja E. Kelly explores the report's findings, which detail the surprising scope for collaboration among these players – and the potential impact on low-income customers.

Many governments offer cash transfers to millions of people at or below the poverty line, most of whom are not connected to the formal financial system. If these cash transfers are funneled into bank accounts rather than paid directly out in cash, these people immediately gain an on-ramp to financial services. But there is a resounding dissonance between enthusiasm for this solution, and the evidence to date.

Can we bring financial services to the world’s 2 billion unbanked individuals by 2020? Accion’s Center for Financial Inclusion tackles that question in "By the Numbers: Benchmarking Progress Toward Financial Inclusion." The report explores both progress and challenges as the emphasis shifts from providing access to enabling active usage of financial services.

Accion’s Global Microscope evaluates the environment for financial inclusion in 55 different countries, on indicators that include government support, the supervision of microfinance and other financial products, the status of credit reporting, regulations governing mobile banking, and consumer protection. Sonja Kelly runs through some winners and losers.

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